SUNY Human Resources Association (SUHRA)
By-Laws

Following are the by-laws of the State University of New York Human Resources Association (SUHRA) as revised Spring 2002.

SUNY Human Resources Association (SUHRA) exists to serve as a strategic partner to promote professionalism and development of its members and enhance the delivery of contemporary and effective human resources services within SUNY.

In order to advance this vision, the SUHRA will:

• Provide a forum for the dynamic exchange of ideas
• Identify and apprise senior management of emerging issues and advances in Human Resources practices
• Devise strategic solutions to issues based upon best practices and benchmarks
• Import cutting edge Human Resources practices and technological advancements to the University
• Articulate SUNY-wide Human Resources issues to System Administration
• Develop expertise and promote professional growth of Human Resources professionals to include mentoring of new practitioners
• Advance cross-functional dialogue and learning opportunities
• Foster reciprocal communications with all levels of administration

• Section 1 - SUHRA membership shall include all employees whose primary responsibility involves the Human Resource function at a campus or at System Administration.
• Section 2 - Primary members: the senior management/confidential employee at a campus, to include the System Human Resources Office, the System Administration Employee Relations Office, and the University-Wide Human Resources Office, whose primary responsibility is the Human Resources function.
• Section 3 - Associate members: consistent with Section 1, all other members.

When an issue requires a vote, time shall be provided for general discussion and discussion among the members present from each institution. There shall be one vote per campus present which will be cast by the Primary Member from each campus. If the Primary Member is not in attendance, the senior staff member present from the institution shall cast the vote. (To avoid a conflict of interest, and in the interests of the University, all members who are not Managerial/Confidential, as well as vendors, etc., will be required to excuse themselves from the discussion of issues related to collective negotiating.)

All members are responsible for and encouraged to participate in association activities including conferences and meetings, meetings of sub-committees, and serving as officers in the Association.

The officers of the association shall be the President, Immediate Past-President,Vice President/President-Elect and Secretary.

The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and its Executive Committee; offer leadership in pursuit of the Association Vision and Mission statements, identifying emergine themes and staying abreast of developments in the field; coordinate the planning of conferences; serve as liaision to the SUNY Business Officers' Association; appoint the chairpersons of all Association standing committees and serve as an ex-officio member of all Association committees. In appointing committee chairs, the President shall welcome them with a letter, outlining the Association's expectation of a continued presence and commitment to activiely participate. The President will provide an annual report of Association activities and accomplishments at the Spring conference.

The Immediate Past-President shall serve as the Treasure of the Associatiion, and provide an annual financial report at the Spring conference..

The Vice President/President-elect shall assist the President as necessary, acting for the president in his/her absence; and assume primary responsibility for conference program content.

The Secretary shall record and publish minutes of the Executive Committee meetings andconference calls; maintain the membership list; maintain records pertaining to annual conference activities; and coordinate distribution of information/materials.

Go to: Officers and Standing Committees to see a directory of current officers.

Between January 1 and April 1 during the year of an election of officers, after soliciting suggestions from the general membership, the Executive Committee shall propose a slate of officers for the Primary Memebers to consider. Nominees shall be Management/Confidential employees who have at least three years experience as a Human Resources manager; a demonstrated record of active participation in the Association; have the support of their institution to attend required Association meetings and other related activities as appropriate during the duration of their term in office; and have a commitment to contribute the time, interest, ability and resources necessary to compete assignments promptly and professionally.

The Executive Committee shall be comprised of the elected officers of the Association and representatives of each of the primary campus categories who shall be appointed by the elected officers after consultation with the Executive Commitee. Additionally, the chairpersons of each standing committee shall be ad hoc, non-voting members.

• Apprise the president of emerging issues
• Populate subcommittees
• Facilitate regional meetings

Duties of Chairs
Standing committee chairs shall welcome new members to the committee, apprising them of the expectation of a continued presence and commitment to actively participate. In addition, each chair shall prepare an annual report of activities to be presented at the Spring conference.

TERMS OF OFFICE

Elected officers shall serve two-year terms. Representatives by campus type will be appointed by the Executive Committee. In order to provide opportunities for those who wish to serve the Association, campus representatives shall serve staggered three-year terms and, except by special action of theExecutive Committee, no person shall serve more than two consecutive terms. At their option, elected officers have the privilege of remaining as ex officio members of the Executive Committee.

Representatives by Campus Type:

The Association shall annually hold two large conferences devoted to current issues and professional development. Two additional one-day meetings will be held annually to update members regarding Human Resource issues. Additional meetings may be scheduled when necessary to deal with contract negotiations and other important issues. Regional sub-committees shall meet as necessary to complete assigned projects and activities.

The Association shall have the following standing committees:

• Awards and Recognition
• Benefits
• Civil Service
• Conference
• Professional Development
• Technology

The president of the Association shall have the authority to appoint ad hoc committees as necessary and foster the creation of regional task oriented or collaborative venture sub-committees to enhance the Association's ability to assign project work and share costs.

Go to: Officers and Standing Committees to see a directory of standing committees and their current members.

Go to Regional Committees and Activities to determine the regional assignment of campuses, to find a link to their activities, or to find links to the HR Web sites for individual campuses.

Voting members in attendance at a regular or specially meeting shall constitute a quorum. In consideration of the members' busy schedules, at the President's discretion, votes may be taken by e-mail ballot.

Proposed amendments of these By-laws, before coming effective, must first be recommended by a majority of the Executive Council and approved be a two-thirds vote of the primary members present.

Proposed by the SUHRA Executive Committee
February, 2005

Regional Comittees have been established geographically as follows:

page last updated: Thursday, March 3, 2005